CAZ wants minibus conductors booted
By KALOBWE BWALYA ABOUT 2,206 people were killed in road traffic accidents, that includes adults and children in 2016, says Zambia Road Safety Trust (ZRST) chairperson Daniel Mwamba.
Mr Mwamba has said that in the same year over 300 children were killed in the same road fatalities.
Reacting to media reports that 21 school going children were killed in Zambia every day in road traffic accidents, Mr Mwamba said that was not the situation on the ground.
Mr Mwamba said between January to September 2016, there was a significant reduction of 20 percent on accidents fatalities compared to 2015 during the same period due to a lot of initiatives by government.
“Over 300 children were killed in 2016 while 2, 206 people were killed that includes adults and children in 2016. This year, January 2016 to September, there has been a significant reduction of 20% on accidents fatalities compared to 2015 during the same period due to a lot of in initiatives by government,” said Mr Mwamba.
Earlier Mr Mwamba said road traffic crashes were now the leading global cause of death for adolescents who walked to school and ZRST was concerned over the continuous killing of children who walk to school.
Last week a non-governmental organisation Amend and ZRST launched a road safety programme that provided lifesaving infrastructure and road safety education to benefit primary school children at high risk of road traffic injury in Lusaka.
Mr Mwamba said it seemed that there was more concerned about crashes involving public transport because they killed many people at once, forgetting the child deaths scattered across in different places of this land.
He thanked Lusaka mayor Wilson Kalumba for an unwavering support to child road safety to Zambia Road Safety Trust, Amend, and others in Lusaka, where most of the Children are injured.
“Children walk to school and school is important, but on this journey children face road danger, death or serious injury. So they need a voice to represent and protect them and we are the voice of these children,” he said. By KALOBWE BWALYA
BUS conductors should not be allowed to operate because they are not only illegal but abusive to commuters, the Commuters Association of Zambia president Aaron Kamuti has said.
Mr Kamuti said there is no law under the Road Transport Act No.11 2000 which permitted conductors to operate and that presently, they were doing so illegally.
In an interview with the Daily Nation, Mr Kamuti said the association would not allow conductors to continue operating because they were in the habit of harassing commuters through the use of abusive language, which in turn frightened commuters.
“Owners of busses do not recognise these conductors so it is hire and fire tenders from the drivers and no law supports conductors, meaning conductors are doing so illegally now. It’s illegal for any bus to have a conductor.
“So as we are phasing out cargo vans which are Toyota Hiace mini buses, there is need to bring conducive buses that are good for passenger usage and by doing so will get rid of bus conductors, Mr said Kamuti.
He said operators and other stakeholders were therefore campaigning for the removal of conductors because they were not recognised by owners of buses who were afraid to employ them.
Meanwhile, Mr Kamuti said it was a serious offence for motorists failing to pave way for an ambulance or any other emergency vehicle, Commuters Association of Zambia.
Mr Kamuti said he had observed that motorist, especially from Lusaka where not giving way to emergency vehicles which was an offence under Road Transport Act NO.11 of 2002.
He said it was worrying that some drivers did not understand simple rules such as Zebra crossing, give way to an emergency vehicle and that this had resulted in many people being killed on the road.
Mr Kamuti pointed out that it was by law that any emergency vehicle be given way, therefore no one should compromise on this.
“Vehicles such as fire brigade, ambulances, a vehicle carrying money among other are automatically given way. And RTSA should always caution the owners of these buses especially during the renewal of operation licenses,” he said.